


The Talk

by twelfth_doctor



Category: Castle
Genre: F/F, Other, genderswapped character, kids and parents coming out to each other at the same time, trans headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 16:06:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1863915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twelfth_doctor/pseuds/twelfth_doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU in which Alexis isn't straight, Ashley isn't a boy, and Castle isn't cis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Talk

Castle turned the key in the lock and swung his apartment door open. He didn't know what he expected to find in his living room, but there was Alexis and--

“ _Oh_. Hey. You must be Ashley.”

The two girls who had been _preocupied_ moments earlier flew apart from one another, both looking mortified and guilty. A long moment passed during which no one spoke or made any sudden movements. Despite blushing furiously, Alexis gradually met her father's eyes, trying to get a read on his reacion. Ashley stood well apart from her and stared determinedly at her own shoes while trying to discretely straighten her t-shirt which hadn't been disturbed at all recently, no sir, no way.

“Dad! I can explain! Ashley and I were just, um--”

Rick raised his hands in defense as he gently kicked the door closed behind him with one foot. “Hey, hey. No need; I was young once.” Rick gave them a small, undesrtanding smile. “You two seem busy, so I'll just be in my office,” he said and made to move in that direction.

“What? You're not mad?” Alexis asked incredulously.

“Dude, don't question it,” Ashley blurted out in a stage whisper, finally breaking her silence and looking up. “Hello, Mr. Castle. It is...nice to meet you.” Ashley moved forward and offered her slight, trembling hand to Rick. She was playing at being braver than she felt, but her jaw was set and Rick shook her hand with no hesitation.

“Nice to meet you, too. I've heard nothing but good things about you.”

There was another awkward beat where Alexis just stared back and forth at the two of them looking confused. “Umm...”

“Actually, I was just leaving. I have someplace to be, other than here.” Ashley tapped her bare wrist as if she were checking the time on a watch, “Yep. Right about now, as it happens.”

“Right!” Alexis chimed in helpfully. “Sorry, Dad. Ashley _was_ just leaving.” She looked around the living room, found Ashley's bag, and thrust it into her hands.

“Ah, I thought you said you two had to study for a test? I really don't mean to intrude,” Rick said with almost uncharacteristic sincerity.

“No, it's fine, Dad. The test was, uh, canceled. Yeah. Or, no. Postponed, actually. No one ever actually cancels tests, that's ridiculous. But anyway, there's gonna be lots more time to study another night—day—uh, time. Because it's...later. On a later date— _day_. Not tomorrow, anyway. And now Ashley has to go do something. Elsewhere.” Alexis's words came out fast and jumbled; she really was a terrible liar.

But still, she walked her 'friend' to the door and as Rick flicked through the pile of mail on the side table and pretended not to notice their hands touching or hear their quiet whispers agreeing to call each other later.

“Bye, Alexis,” Ashley said more loudly at the doorway. “Have a good night, Mr. Castle.”

“You too, Ashley,” Rick smiled a kind, genuine smile again as one nervous girl left and another gently closed the apartment door after her.

Alexis turned around and made a hasty retreat to the kitchen in search of ice cream. Rick followed at a safe distance and sat down. Only after she had set out two bowls, two spoons, a half gallon of fudge ripple and an ice cream scoop did he break the silence.

“Did you even eat dinner yet?”

“No.” Alexis looked confused and hesitant. “Is that really all you're gonna say to me? I was expecting the ice cream to go with a different lecture. One less about nutrition and more about what you did or didn't see a few minutes ago.”

“Hey, no judgement. All God's children. It's fine. I was gay once for a while, no big deal. We all do it. It's okay.”

Alexis gawked. “Are—are you—quoting _Easy A_ at me right now?? Is this _really_ the time!?”

“Yeah, I love that movie. Isn't it great?” Rick allowed himself a small chuckle. “I really think it's the unofficial sequel to Mean Girls that your generation so desperately craved,” he finished matter-of-factly.

“Dad.”

“What? Do you really think I'm gonna be mad that you kissed a girl you like? When I was your age, I did that all the time. Still do, on occasion. It's great.”

“Dad, ew. And not the same! Not even remotely the same,” Alexis's voice cracked at the last word. Her face started to get red and blotchy again.

“Hey, woah, woah. Alexis, what's wrong? Was someone mean to you and Ashley? Did someone threaten you? I know people who have guns! And you should really eat your ice cream before it all melts.”

Alexis sniffed and dabbed at one eye, catching a tear before it had the chance to truly fall. “Thanks, Dad. No one has said or done anything mean to us yet. No one knows about us yet. I'm scared to tell people. Ashley's not. She's like, _out_. She knows who she is already! I'm still figuring things out, I think. I think I really, really like her. But I don't know if I like Girls, or just her, or Boys and I guess I'm having a teenage identity crisis or something. It's _overwhelming_.” She sighed and shoveled a too-large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

She winced and grumbled, “Ow. Ow, ow, ow.”

Rick took advantage of his daughter's brief brain freeze to interrupt, “It's not too overwhelming, I hope? Nothing's happening too fast? I'm trying very hard to be a Cool Dad about all this, but it is actually really important that you don't do anything you're not ready for, or anything you don't want to do, or anything _she_ doesn't want to do. You know that, right?”

Alexis nodded, “I know, Dad.”

“Good girl. And it's not the end of the world if you don't have all your stuff figured out just yet. Say, did I ever tell you about the time I came out to your grandmother prematurely?”

Alexis choked on her ice cream. In between violent coughs she managed to get out a few incredulous _what!?_ s.

“Yeah, I was saving this story for the right time. And that time is probably now, isn't it. When I was a little younger than you, about 13 maybe, I told Gram I thought I was gay.”

“Seriously? But, uh, you seem so _straight_ , though. Did you have a boyfriend at the time or something? Did you go through a 'phase?'” Alexis surrounded the last word with semi-sarcastic air quotes.

It was Rick's turn to start getting nervous and antsy. When he woke up that morning, he had not expected to have to have this talk today. “Ah, no, actually. No phase, no boyfriend. Quite the opposite; I had a really huge crush on a girl.”

Genuinely curious and more than a little confused now, Alexis pushed her ice cream away. “Then, why...?”

Rick looked down at the granite surface of the kitchen island hoping to find the courage to answer his daughter's question somewhere in its patterns. He took a very deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I was... designated female at birth. I told my mother that I thought I was a lesbian because I knew I liked girls, and I had been told all my life that _I_ was a girl. I didn't realize being trans was an actual option.”

“You're kidding,” Alexis blurted out.

As much as he tried to brace himself for this reaction, Rick couldn't help visibly flinching.

“Oh my God, you're not kidding! I—I'm so sorry, Dad!” Alexis reached out and took his hand, trying to undo the hurt she caused. A question formed in the back of her mind, though. “... _Dad?_ ”

Rick looked up and saw her concern slide right back into confusion. He squeezed his daughter's hand to reassure her.

“Okay. Long story short time. Your grandmother helped me come to terms with my gender identity and she was extremely supportive. She sat me down and said if I felt like a boy and wanted everyone else to see me and treat me like one, then that was what we were gonna do. So, I sort of un-came-out as gay and re-came-out as trans, but pretty much just to her and the doctors. She got me on hormone replacement therapy right away, and I was young enough that my transition was easier than it might otherwise have been.

“Theatre mom that she is, she sent me to boarding school so I could fully immerse and socialize with boys as a boy to hone my craft, as it were. She wanted me to be able to 'pass' so I wouldn't have to deal with misgendering or anything more sinister. It was a different, slightly more dangerous time, then; you woudln't want to force that kind of gender conformity on anyone nowadays... But, it was how she showed that she supported me... She wanted me to be safe and happy and true to myself. Not everybody like me has a parent like her. I'm grateful for everything she did.

“...So, yes. Where was I? Ah, legal name change, and all that. Two of them, actually. One to Richard Rogers, then the one to Richard Castle, which you knew about. Duh. Blah, blah, blah, Dad, skip to the good part: and then I met your mom.”

Alexis tried her best to keep it together through all this new information. “And?”

“And you obviously weren't an accident, kiddo. We decided we wanted to have a baby together and went to considerable lengths to do it.”

“ _And?_ ”

“We had the doctors harvest some of my eggs, we picked a doner who had the same hair color and eye color as your mother, and your mother carried you to term. It's really not that far off from what we always let you believe.” Rick took Alexis's other hand in his. “We're your parents. I'm still your father. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Alexis sniffled again. “Yeah, I think so. But why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?”

“I... don't have a good answer for that, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I didn't want to confuse you when you were little, and then I guess I just kept putting it off because I was afraid you wouldn't understand or that it would somehow change things between us. I was afraid.” Rick smiled a sad smile and fought to contain tears of his own.

“Oh, Dad.” Alexis went around the kitchen island and pulled him into a hug. “You raised me better than that.” She pulled him close and mumbled into his shoulder, “You could have trusted me.”

Rick took another deep breath and let out a sigh of relief as a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. “I know, sweetie. I know that now.” He squeezed her tight one last time before letting her go.

“Thanks for talking to me about this. And for being so understanding. And not yelling or kicking Ashley out.”

“No problem. I'm glad you found somebody who makes you happy, and now we know we don't have to keep secrets from each other.” Rick stood up from his chair and said, “Now, how about you go call your friend and I order us up some real food to go with all this ice cream?”

“Sounds good, Dad,” Alexis grinned.


End file.
